Loy Luo: “Both Sides Now”
FORM THEATRE – TEXTURE
Loy Luo: “Both Sides Now”
Curated by John Mazlish & Leslie Herman
Loy Luo’s latest solo exhibition "Both Sides Now" takes its name from the classic
Joni Mitchell song, and reflects a sentiment that perfectly encapsulates both the visual structure of the show and the essence of the artist’s creative philosophy. Luo explores the inherent duality within human nature- one side rough, the other delicate; one side sorrowful, the other hopeful; one side kind, the other indifferent. Just like life itself, existence is a balance of contradictions: light and shadow, generosity and ruthlessness.
For this exhibition, Luo presents large-scale multimedia works that transform the gallery
into an immersive, enclosed space. A deliberate “peep window” design invites viewers
to look inward from the outside and outward from within, symbolizing the interplay
between personal introspection and external perception.
"Both Sides Now" is also part of Luo’s ongoing "Form Theater" series at Loy Luo Space- a
project dedicated to pushing the boundaries of materiality and form. The exhibition
highlights Luo’s deep fascination with texture—an element the artist sees as a tangible
manifestation of life’s passage. As Luo explains, while the meaning of life remains
abstract and elusive, the textures shaped by time and matter are concrete, real, and
deeply moving.
Exhibition Details:
Loy Luo Space, 101 Lafayette St., NYC, 10013
March 7 – April 3, 2025
Opening Night: March 7, 5–8 PM
For more information please contact us info@loyluospace.com
Exhibition Site
Exhibition Works
About Loy Luo
Loy Luo in her Beijing studio 2017
Loy Luo is a Chinese artist living in New York. She holds a master's degree from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and has taught at the Beijing Institute of Business Administration.
As the Loy Luo space owner, Luo created the concept of "Open Theater". In her space in the Tribeca gallery district, she continuously displays exhibitions of different themes with a frequency and appearance similar to post-industrial production. While maintaining the quality of art, the space is open to artists of various backgrounds, experiences, and achievements as much as possible to explore the depth and diversity of the selected themes.
In recent years, Luo's core creative concept has been Action Art.
First, she believes that concepts cannot remain at the level of slogans but should be implemented and presented through concrete actions. For example, she shares her art space with artists and implements the slogans "15 minutes of fame" and "Everyone is an artist" in the form of thematic exhibitions; compared with those politically colored slogans, she concludes the exploration of art itself: not only famous artists can create excellent works, and not only good artists can create good works. This is also the underlying logic of her emphasis on the works of artists at all levels and her efforts to provide equal opportunities for communication and display.
Secondly, the concept of her action art integrates factors such as time, space, people, and ideas, greatly expanding the boundaries of previous action art and integrated media art, and is more holistic and constructive than the former two. For example, the works "The Other I" and "Homeless" that explored identity at the beginning of the pandemic are not just framed exhibits but cover the artist's specific living state, creative motivation, time, process, communication, exhibition, dialogue and space conversion.During her passive stay in New York in the middle of the pandemic, the works involving cultural introspection that lasted for two years: such as "Window", "Eyes", and "Palimpsest", extended the material window of art to the historical and cultural dimension outside the window; with the adaptation and deepening of New York life, the artist's experience in the use of space and in-depth research on abstract art creation stimulated the evolution of the "Abstract Theater" series of works;
Finally, driven by factors such as the reflection on contemporary art ecology, the advent of a large macro-comprehensive action art work called "Open Theater" was prompted.
Before coming to the United States, Luo's artistic creations were mainly paintings and sculptures. Her art is known for its rich layers, restrained energy, and profound thoughts. Her works have been exhibited or collected in China, Italy, France, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Australia, and others.
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